Feed Back: Weird Tuna

A few weeks ago I wrote about solving my own grocery day dilemma which prompted Andrew to respond with a comment about his (self-proclaimed) weird tuna concoction involving apples and onions. I was intrigued.

half apple on cutting board

I have an odd relationship with onions.  I like them cold and raw (preferably minced very fine) or cooked, at the very least, to a completely softened state.  If they fall somewhere in between, I just can't seem to stomach them; the short cooking time for tuna melts results in warm, raw onions and this is the precise reason I avoid adding them to mine.  I decided to start with a frying pan.

sautéing onions and walnuts

As I began my onion sauté, I though about how much I love the cozy combination of apples and walnuts and wondered how they would work in this mix.  Since we were already working with weird, I crushed a few and added them to the pan.  When the onions were done to my preference point, I moved them to a mixing bowl, along with my already diced apple (skins intact for some additional colour) and a short stalk of celery that I wanted to use up.

apples, onions, walnuts, celery

This is the part where I must confess that I completely veered from the original plan and took this tuna in a whole new direction.  Already going nuts earlier, I kept building on instinct, now using the idea but making it my own.  The downside to this?  If the melts were a flop I could no longer hold Andrew responsible.  Still, I continued with confidence and worked on the dressing; a couple scoops of mayonnaise, some sea salt, fresh ground pepper, paprika, cayenne, lemon juice and a healthy dose of curry.

curried mayonnaise dressing

After stirring together the dressing, the apple mixture and one drained can of tuna, I scooped even amounts over thick beds of fresh cornbread, topping each with diced slices of cheese before popping the pan in to the oven to bake.

tuna mixture on cornbread

fresh out of the oven

The verdict?  Not weird, but wonderful.  Different flavours I would never have thought to try together, but am certainly glad I did.  Thanks to Andrew for sharing your idea; I hope you'll try my variation on your recipe.

 

curried apple tuna melts

Grocery Day Dilemma

Grocery Day has always been my most difficult of days to decide what to make for dinner. I'm not referring to the obvious pre-shop annoyance of "there's nothing to eat" while sneering at bare cupboards and an empty refrigerator; I'm referring to the just-unpacked-enough-food-to-feed-a-small-army shopping extravaganza.

Having just endured my most hated task of unpacking the bags, I seem to become overwhelmed by the abundance of it all. I stare at the selection of meat on the counter, trying to decide which will end up on my plate so I can get the rest in to the freezer. I run through an imaginary taste test of every fresh vegetable I've placed in the crisper or pantry, thinking to myself "mmmmm mashed yams" or "ooooh steamed broccoli". I gaze lovingly at the new assortment of cheeses. I walk from cupboard to fridge and back again (quite a few times) and stare blankly at the glistening sealed containers and bold coloured boxes, their labels forming twinkly eyed smiling faces which call out "pick me!" Too many choices; I want it all. My brain suffers inspiration overload (I notice I've inadvertently forgotten to pick up laundry detergent) and I decide it's too late to start cooking. I order pizza.

Here on my Island, ordering pizza isn't an option so my Grocery Day dilemma now has a new ending.

Tuna Melts

grocery day dilemma

For my tuna melts, you'll need 2 hard boiled eggs. Start them as soon as you finish dragging the grocery bags in to the kitchen; by the time you've put everything away they'll be finished boiling. Run them under cold water to let them cool. Since you're already boiling 2 eggs you should probably just make 4. It's always nice to have a couple extras in the fridge.

Drain a can of tuna; dump it in a bowl with some diced dill pickle (I use a large one) and the eggs (chopped). Divide a lemon and squeeze the juice of one half over the bowl. Add some of the water from the pickle jar (maybe a Tbsp-ish?) Season with a bit of salt, a lot of fresh ground pepper and some paprika.

salt, pepper, paprika and lemon

Next add a couple glops (yes, glops - I'm sure you know what I mean) of mayonnaise. You 'could' use miracle whip or some other salad dressing - in my opinion its not a substitute and they wouldn't taste the same. Sometimes instead of all mayo, I half/half it with soft cream cheese. Really it's up to you.

Next cut 6 thick slices from the fresh loaf of french bread. "What french bread" you ask? The french bread you picked up at the store bakery specifically for making tuna melts. It is, after all, Grocery Day. Lightly spread each with butter or margarine (I said lightly) and snuggle them, butter sides down, in to a high-edged baking pan. The butter and high edges will keep the bread from drying out when you "melt" them.

Divide the tuna mixture evenly among the slices of bread. I stress evenly because you may be tempted to add less tuna to the smaller pieces of bread. This sucks for the people who get served the small pieces and end up getting shorted on both bread AND tuna. Place a thin blanket of cheese over each. We usually get our cheese sliced from the deli which works perfectly. Try to not use a sharp cheese which will overpower the rest of the ingredients and remember that you are making tuna melts, not cheese toast; a little goes a long way. I like to add some colour by sprinkling the tops with a touch of paprika. French bread, tuna, mayo and Gouda cheese, while incredibly tasty, tends to look rather bland.

oven ready

Now pop them into your oven and let them become melts. I can't advise on temperature or length of time since my oven doesn't really work properly. I use high heat and take them out when the cheese is melted and starts to bubble, but before they burn; enough time to rinse the cutting board, bowl, knife and spoon I used for preparation and to put some plates on the table. Basically, if you aren't eating within 30 minutes of putting your groceries away, you got distracted.

toasty tuna melts

So this is my no-fail solution to the Grocery Day dilemma. I can confidently arrive home from the store without dread or panic and can ignore my taunting pantry until tomorrow. And then it's a whole new story.

Did you try these tuna melts? Do you have your own solution to the Grocery Day dilemma? I'd love to hear about it...
.